Lawrence, Ma 5th Alarm - 9 S Canal St - 1/13/14

Just before 5pm, fire alarm started receiving calls for a building fire in the vicinity of 31 Merrimack St for the Merrimack Paper Company on South Canal St next to the Merrimack River. The mill is over 150 years old and is a large cluster of buildings and has been the scene of many major fires over the past few years. Box 6111 was transmitted with a response of Engines 9, 5, Ladder 4, Rescue 1 and the Deputy Car 21. En route C21 requested a 3rd engine company and Engine 7 was added to the response. Upon arrival, Ladder 4 reported "tons of smoke showing". A few minutes later, at the request of C21, Ladder 5 was requested followed by a 2nd alarm response. Due to previous fires at the complex and the obvious danger in sending firefighters into the building with such heavy smoke and fire conditions, it was decided to go to a defensive posture and fight the fire from the exterior. Over the course of the next several hours, additional alarms and special requests including the Worcester Box 4 Canteen Unit and the Red Cross were made. Several cities and towns including Salem NH, Methuen, Lowell, Dracut, North Andover, Andover, North Reading and Wilmington sent units to assist at the scene while companies from Middleton, Danvers, Reading and Tewksbury covered Lawrence Central Firehouse on Lowell St. Firefighters remained on the scene overnight and most of the next day dousing hot spots while members of the State Fire Marshals Office and Lawrence Fire Investigators sifted through the rubble to try to determine a cause. While a cause is still unknown, according to Acting Fire Chief Marsh, all utilities had been shut off and arson has not been rulled out. The building will now have to be demolished for safety reasons.